ZARATHUSHTRA - THE GOLDEN STAR (FOURTH EDITION) by Pareen Lalkaka Illustrated P. B. Kavadi Published by THE W.Z.O. TRUST FUNDS MUMBAI 2010 1 Mrs. Parveen Lalkaka, Avasia House, Darabshaw Road, Mumbai 26. Printed in India 1st Edition - 1965 - 1000 copies 2nd Edition - 1992 - 2500 copies 3rd Edition - 1995 - 3000 copies 4th Edition - 2010 - 1000 copies Published by The W.Z.O. Trust, Mumbai and Printed at Union Press 13, Homji Street, Fort, Mumbai 400 001. 2 Preface to the first Edition Here is a book named Zarathushtra -The Golden Star” written by Mrs. Pareen Lalkaka. The book deals with the life of the Prophet, stories of the Amesha Spentas and the Kusti Prayers. It is meant for children and is consequently written in extremely simple style so that children can easily read it, understand it, and enjoy it. To please children the book is illustrated with coloured pictures. Ancient Iran was clothed with luscious vegetation. The farmers who cultivated the fields had flocks of sheep, cows, horses, dogs and camels. In the absence of money, these were exchanged for the purchase of the necessities of life. When strong people living on the frontiers poured down and attacked the innocent and carried away their cattle and eatables, they prayed to God for help. Ahura Mazda asked the Fravashis to go to the world to help mankind. They willingly agreed. Amongst those that came to Iran was the child Zarathushtra who was destined to rise as a prophet. A t the time of his birth Zarathushtra laughed, whereas all other children cried. As he grew up he became kind and generous. When he began to preach his religion, the hostile heretic priests carried on counter propaganda against him. Friendless and forlorn, Zarathushtra fled to Ahura Mazda and requested him to help him as a friend. He longed to see and greet Ahura Mazda. With the Lord God with him, he taught people to be kind and loving. Zarathushtra then visited King Vishtaspa and his noble queen, Hutaoshi, who helped him whole-heartedly. Then follow stories about the Amesha Spentas. The fist King Hushang who discovered fire and other precious things for the nourishment of the people. The story of Zahak, Faridun and Kawa the blacksmith, Iraj the brave and kind and his brothers, Kaikhushru and other Kai kings and the lovely story of Shireen and Shehernaz ends the stories. The book ends with the Kusti prayers. It is very creditable of Mrs. Pareen Lalkaka to have written such an excellent book. This book is of universal interest, and I am sure that people all over the world will enjoy reading it and will learn something about our prophet and have a glimpse of our religion. by the Late Dastur M. N. DHALLA M.A., PH.D., D.LITT. 3 Acknowledgements I humbly thank Dastur Dr. Framroze Bode and the late Dr. lrach Taraporewalla, who first taught me the beauty of my religion and helped and guided me to write this book, and who recommended it for publication. My thanks are due to Dastur Khursheed Dabu who read the text and who recommended it for publication in the following words: “I have perused the booklet and find it worthy of publication.” I also thank Dastur Navroze Minocherhomji for very kindly reading the text and helping me with certain Avestan names; and Madame Ferangis Yeganegi, from Iran, for her valuable advice concerning the arrangement of the contents of this book. I wish to express my warm thanks to the generous donor who has made possible the publication of this little book, and wishes to remain anonymous. I also thank Mr. S. Ramu, the head of the Printing Press, and Miss Sahiar for their kind help and their genuine desire to see this little book in print. Last, but not least, are my thanks due to my parents and many other parents, my husband, my sisters, the children I have known and loved, including my own and the artist who has painted the pictures for this book. He took many months studying old manuscripts and books in the Library of the Cama Oriental Institute, changing and re-painting the pictures so that they would look as ancient as possible -though no one today knows exactly what the people in Zarathushtra’s day looked like or what clothes they wore. It is his pictures that make the words come alive, and for his love and infinite patience I am deeply grateful. 4 Preface to the Third Edition This book was first printed in 1965 so that Zoroastrian children could learn about their religion from an early age. It was hoped that reading this book would kindle a fire in their hearts to know and learn more about the religion of Zarathushtra. The second edition was brought out in 1992 by the World Zoroastrian Organization, London, with the help of donations from Dr. (Mrs.) Shirinbanoo S. Kutar of London, U.K. (in revered memory of her late husband Dasturji Dr. Sohrab Hormusji Kutar), and Hilda and Rumi Sethna of London, U.K. (in pious memory of their late mother Mrs. Piroja Pherozshaw Sethna) and The World Zarathushtrian Trust Funds, London. Due to a demand for more copies of the book, it is being re-printed. I am deeply grateful and sincerely thank The W.Z.O. Trust for Women and Children for bringing out this third edition. May it help to generate a great love of our religion amongst our Zoroastrian children and, may children of other faiths who read this book, get to know the religion of Zarathushtra, broad based on Truth, Righteousness, the Divine Law and the ever encompassing Love of God. PAREEN LALKAKA 5 Preface to the Fourth Edition Pareen Lalkaka’s book, Zarathushtra – the Golden Star, has been very popular ever since it was first published in 1965. It is an ideal tool for generating interest in young children to the religion of our Prophet Zarathushtra. It is to the credit of Pareen Lalkaka that she has undertaken a painstaking labour of love to research, prepare and publish reading material that young children will find interesting. We Zoroastrians, a community of achievers have evolved from the genes of the likes of Jamsheed, Faredoon, Cyrus, Darius and many other giants cast in a similar mould. It stands to reason, without doubt, that our successes are undoubtedly linked to our faith. For all human beings, faith is a very vital attribute. Faith is the fountainhead from which goodness flows and righteousness in all its glory is manifest. In my estimation our success has largely been due to the fact that we have kept the faith. We have remained true to the teachings of our prophet in word and more importantly in spirit. We as a community will do well to remember that as long as we keep the faith, we shall be assured of continued ascent. The WZO Trust Funds, Mumbai are pleased to sponsor the publication of the fourth edition, for distribution to families who would like to create interest in our religion in their children. Copies will be available upon request, till stocks last, from Union Press where the book is being printed. DINSHAW K. TAMBOLY WZO Trust Funds - Chairman 6 Zarathushtra - The Golden Star Long long ago, in the country of Iran, lived a man called Zarathushtra. he became a great Prophet. “What is a Prophet”? you will ask. A Prophet is a man who knows something about God and His ways. He tells us how by loving God we begin to love everything He created. This makes us always happy. Iran is a beautiful country with many mountains and rivers. When Zarathushtra was born in Iran the men were tall, fair and strong. Most of the men were farmers and worked in the fields. They kept camels, horses, cows, sheep, goats, dogs/cats and other animals. There were shepherds too. The people drank the milk which the cows, sheep and camels gave them. The wool from the sheep was used in making warm clothes. The winters are very cold in Iran. The women in Iran were beautiful and fair. They had lovely big eyes and very long hair. When the men went to work, the women stayed at home and cooked the food. The girls helped their mothers at home. The boys helped their fathers in the fields. They dug the ground and grew food. The people did not know anything about money. In those days when a person wanted something, he would give a cow or a sheep or some other animal or vegetable, and take what he wanted. There were no cars, buses or cycles. People walked or rode on the backs of animals, The people of Iran lived a quiet life and were very happy. When the ground became very hard and they could not grow even grass, they would leave that place. They would take all their animals and go to another place. These people moved about like this from place to place, and were called Nomads. Now in the mountains of Iran lived some very strong people. They would suddenly come down the mountain side, kill the farmers, take away their animals and all the food they had grown. These bad people also took away women and girls and made them work for them as slaves. These people were lazy and did not want to work. So they would take away everything from the poor farmers. 7 God listens to the prayers of the good farmers and helps them The good farmers thought of God.